Slowly, Wilting Flower
by XHeartsGrowX
Summary: "Gaara-kun, why do you go through such lengths to save me?" The said boy paused, searching for the most precise answer. After a moment, he answered, "Because Sakura, in this world... you are the only person worth dying for. You are the only good thing left." -GaaSaku


So... I'm totally aware that I've got three other stories to update but there was this idea that came into my head, then BAM! I was typing my story. No need to worry though, I'll update the rest of my stories soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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_Footsteps. Loud ones which meant that a lot of people were coming. "M-mother," she looked at the woman with pink hair like hers and grabbed hold of the woman's hand. In return, the woman turned and started sprinting, still holding hands. She pushed her daughter inside a cabinet and whispered. "We love you Sakura."_

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"Gaara-kun, you shouldn't be lying there! You'll catch a cold!" A young girl with emerald, green eyes and short pink locks called out to a boy with red hair. The said boy looked at the girl and frowned slightly. He actually liked sleeping in the meadows, the grasses were warm, soft and gentle to him. "But I like it here, Sakura.." he answered the girl. Sakura immediately started crying.

"But my mother said you'll catch a cold if you lie here." She hiccupped loudly. Gaara was then alarmed by the girl's sudden outburst. He panicked slightly in his head, thinking of ways to get the girl to stop crying. He didn't like it when she cried. Tears and Sakura didn't match. He was pretty sure it never would.

Sakura should always be smiling. She should always be happy and laughing with that sweet, gentle voice she possesses. Sakura should never cry. She should never be hurt. She certainly did not deserve to.

Sakura, noticing that Gaara wasn't speaking, misunderstood and thought he was mad at her. "Gaara-kun, don't be mad at me! I.. just don't want you to die!" She screamed, fearfully emphasizing the word _die._ Gaara suddenly stood up and reached for the girl.

He took her small, pale body into his arms and hushed for her to stop crying. "It's okay, Sakura-chan. I definitely won't die." The things he spouted were not useless promises, he was not going to be like Sakura's parents who committed suicide because of a huge debt. He was not going to be someone who would make her unhappy. He definitely was not going to leave her.

"I absolutely won't leave you." He said firmly. "And you won't leave me either." He added with a soft, yet serious smile. Sakura ceased her tears and stared at Gaara for a moment. She knew Gaara wasn't lying to her... because no matter what happened, he was always there for her. He never left her side, and even if she was still a child, she wondered why he was so… kind to her.

Her parents loved her… but then they left. That meant that they did not love her. That meant that they did not care for her.

They went ahead and left her behind.

"Ne, Gaara-kun…" she murmured innocently at the boy. Gaara took this as a chance to permanently stop her tears and gave her a small smile, urging her to go on. "Why are you so nice to me?" Gaara was quite surprised at her answer. He surely had not expected that kind of question. He thought for sure Sakura was not yet at an age to ask such a complex thing. He paused momentarily, searching for the right words to describe his feelings towards the pink-haired girl.

Slowly, he answered,

"…Because Sakura, in this world.. you are the only good thing left." He smiled. "For me, you… are the only person worth dying for." Sakura casts a confused look at the slightly older boy. She returned her gaze to the tree in front of her, as if the tree knew what her question was, before looking at Gaara again.

"Why? Is everyone else bad?" she inquired Gaara with wide, curious eyes, but then she grinned at him. "I'll help everyone become good!" Gaara forced himself to focus his gaze somewhere faraway. Sakura had no idea how horrible the world was now. She had no concept of the world, didn't know its current condition. It was probably because he kept her hidden from the anomalities of the world.

But he did it with good intentions. He did it because he loved her.

If she saw what state the whole world was in now, she would be scarred for life. Her hope of renewing the world would disappear instantly. If that hope disappears, then Sakura wouldn't be... _Sakura._

He had seen the effects of the world to unfortunate children. Had seen the look on their faces the moment they realized that there was no longer anything to look forward to. No longer anything to be thankful for. No longer anything to give them joy.

He would not let Sakura feel the same way. For now, he would let her enjoy the luxuries she had. He would let her see the long-gone beauty of their world. And when he believes she is ready, he would finally tell her the truth, as cruel as it is.

"You're safe, Sakura." The said girl glanced at Gaara with a weird look, most likely not understanding his words. She let his simple yet meaningfulwords sink into her brain before grinning widely, "I know." Gaara slowly stood up then and took her hands in his.

He then kneeled slightly so he could be leveled with small Sakura and gave a chaste kiss on her forehead. Pulling back, he saw that Sakura was now blushing profusely. He chuckled lightly before turning away.

Sakura went closer to him and took his right hand. Gaara smiled and started walking towards the mansion which was in the middle of the still living meadows. The mansion, along with the meadows were secluded in large walls.

He vaguely remembered Sakura asking him why there were walls around their home. He only shook his head, not intending to answer her question yet. She pouted politely and protested, saying she was already a big girl. In the end, Sakura never got her answer, which resulted in an all-out war with Gaara.

By war, meaning Sakura screeched at him, telling him she'd never speak to him again. Well, she tried to not speak to him. She stopped resisting in a few hours and promptly apologized to Gaara, saying she won't ask him anymore.

Gaara smiled fondly at the memory, glad that memory led to her not asking him about the walls around their home anymore. When she first asked him that, he was flabbergasted, he didn't think she would ask him such a complex question. In truth, he had also struggled in their fight.

Not speaking to Sakura was a very hard task. After all, they only had each other in this place. There were no other people in the manor, not that he was complaining.

He didn't need anyone else's company. Sakura was enough

"Hey.." The said girl's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. He looked at the said girl. "Do you love me?" Gaara was pulled aback at the girl's sudden question. Of course he did. That was the only reason why he was still here in the first place. That was the reason he wasn't tempted to leave this place he previously called cage. That was the reason he'd always come back from his long hunts. That was the only reason he was…still alive.

He smiled at her again. "Yes," he started. "I love you the most." Sakura blushed like before and looked away. From the corner of Gaara's eye, he saw that Sakura took a peek at him. She glanced in front of them, most likely trying to see what he was staring at.

He was gazing at their mansion, since they were already near.

As they were trudging inside their home, Sakura whispered softly, shyly. "Me too." She then ran upstairs, possibly back to her room.

Gaara couldn't help but chuckle at Sakura's loving words. He also couldn't help but fear tomorrow. They were too happy, and he was starting to become wary of the events that will soon take place. With the way things are, life filled with lots of joy, Gaara couldn't help but think that a huge storm was building up. Taking its sweet, long time.

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Things will be explained a lot more in the next chapters. This is kind of like a prologue. I had an ItaSaku story before too but, I kinda lost interest in it. I didn't want to leave it on the site just to give other people an incomplete story so I deleted it.

Gaara is OOC and smiles a lot but that's just because Sakura is there. You'll see the differences of his behavior w/o Sakura soon.

So, I was actually debating whether to post the story or not. Honestly, I'm not too keen on it either but I wanted to give it a shot. I'm pretty much planning on deleting it if I get no feedback.

Review! :)


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